New research from Kiel University is challenging long-held assumptions about the role of rye in medieval agriculture. Rather than being a crop of last resort grown on poor soils, rye was carefully cultivated using labour-intensive manuring techniques from its earliest use, according to a new study published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B.
The study, led by palaeoecologist Frank Schlütz from the Institute of Prehistoric and Protohistoric Archaeology at Kiel University, examined charred rye grains found at archaeological sites in the northern Germany areas of Lower Saxony and Brandenburg. These grains, dating from the 4th to the 15th century, were analysed using modern isotopic methods.
“It did not slowly become a dominant crop as a substitute plant, but through its early integration into a labour-intensive manuring system that already existed at the time, which was mainly based on stable dung,” said Schlütz.
By measuring nitrogen, carbon, and sulphur isotopes in the grains, the researchers were able to infer information about soil conditions and agricultural practices. “The nitrogen and sulphur isotopes provide us information about the type and intensity of manuring at the time, while the carbon isotopes tell us about the grain’s yield,” explained Schlütz.
To strengthen their findings, the researchers also conducted comparative studies on modern rye grown in agricultural trial areas with dung fertilisation in Thyrow (Brandenburg) and Halle an der Saale (Saxony-Anhalt). The results revealed that medieval rye was mostly cultivated on well-manured fields, and that peat may also have been used as fertiliser in some areas. The highest yields likely came from the marshlands along the North Sea coast, where abundant rainfall and livestock dung created ideal growing conditions.
Beyond the agricultural insights, the study also explores the broader social implications of rye production in the Middle Ages. “There is much to suggest that the accumulation and control of rye surpluses during the Middle Ages was a means for the upper classes and the church to consolidate their dominant position,” said Schlütz.
Rye remained a staple grain in Central Europe for over a thousand years, only being overtaken by wheat in the mid-20th century. Today, rye breads such as pumpernickel and black bread are often seen as rustic or traditional, but this new research reveals their origins lie in a far more complex and labour-intensive medieval system.
The article, “Stable isotope analyses (δ15N, δ34S, δ13C) locate early rye cultivation in northern Europe within diverse manuring practices,” by Frank Schlütz, Felix Bittmann, Susanne Jahns, Sonja König, Lyudmila Shumilovskikh, Michael Baumecker and Wiebke Kirleis, is published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. Click here to read it.
Top Image: National Library of France, Department of Manuscripts, NAL 1673 fol. 47r
New research from Kiel University is challenging long-held assumptions about the role of rye in medieval agriculture. Rather than being a crop of last resort grown on poor soils, rye was carefully cultivated using labour-intensive manuring techniques from its earliest use, according to a new study published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B.
The study, led by palaeoecologist Frank Schlütz from the Institute of Prehistoric and Protohistoric Archaeology at Kiel University, examined charred rye grains found at archaeological sites in the northern Germany areas of Lower Saxony and Brandenburg. These grains, dating from the 4th to the 15th century, were analysed using modern isotopic methods.
“It did not slowly become a dominant crop as a substitute plant, but through its early integration into a labour-intensive manuring system that already existed at the time, which was mainly based on stable dung,” said Schlütz.
By measuring nitrogen, carbon, and sulphur isotopes in the grains, the researchers were able to infer information about soil conditions and agricultural practices. “The nitrogen and sulphur isotopes provide us information about the type and intensity of manuring at the time, while the carbon isotopes tell us about the grain’s yield,” explained Schlütz.
To strengthen their findings, the researchers also conducted comparative studies on modern rye grown in agricultural trial areas with dung fertilisation in Thyrow (Brandenburg) and Halle an der Saale (Saxony-Anhalt). The results revealed that medieval rye was mostly cultivated on well-manured fields, and that peat may also have been used as fertiliser in some areas. The highest yields likely came from the marshlands along the North Sea coast, where abundant rainfall and livestock dung created ideal growing conditions.
Beyond the agricultural insights, the study also explores the broader social implications of rye production in the Middle Ages. “There is much to suggest that the accumulation and control of rye surpluses during the Middle Ages was a means for the upper classes and the church to consolidate their dominant position,” said Schlütz.
Rye remained a staple grain in Central Europe for over a thousand years, only being overtaken by wheat in the mid-20th century. Today, rye breads such as pumpernickel and black bread are often seen as rustic or traditional, but this new research reveals their origins lie in a far more complex and labour-intensive medieval system.
The article, “Stable isotope analyses (δ15N, δ34S, δ13C) locate early rye cultivation in northern Europe within diverse manuring practices,” by Frank Schlütz, Felix Bittmann, Susanne Jahns, Sonja König, Lyudmila Shumilovskikh, Michael Baumecker and Wiebke Kirleis, is published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. Click here to read it.
Top Image: National Library of France, Department of Manuscripts, NAL 1673 fol. 47r
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